Business process modelling notation – C2

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What is Business Process Modeling Notation? (BPMN)

The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a standardized graphical notation for

drawing business processes in a workflow.

Business Process Modeling Notation was developed by Business Process Management Initiative,
and is now being maintained by the Object Management Group since their merger in 2005. The
primary goal of BPMN is to provide a notation that is readily understandable by all business users,
from the business analysts who create the initial drafts of the processes, to the technical developers
responsible for implementing the technology that will perform those processes, and finally, to the
business people who will manage and monitor those processes. Thus, BPMN creates a standardized
bridge for the gap between the business process design and process implementation. Currently,
there are scores of process modeling tools and methodologies. BPMN will also advance the
capabilities of traditional business process notations by inherently handling B2B business process
concepts, such as public and private processes and choreographies, as well as advanced modeling
concepts, such as exception handling and transaction compensation.

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) scope

BPMN is constrained to support only the concepts of modeling that are applicable to business
processes. This means that other types of modeling done by organizations for business purposes are
out of scope for BPMN. For example, the modeling of the following will not be a part of BPMN:

• Organizational structures
• Functional breakdowns
• Data models

In addition, while BPMN shows the flow of data (messages), and the association of data artifacts to
activities, it is not a data flow diagram.

Uses of BPMN

Business process modeling is used to communicate a wide variety of information to a wide variety
of audiences. BPMN is designed to cover this wide range of usage and allows modeling of end-to-
end business processes to allow the viewer of the Diagram to be able to easily differentiate between
sections of a BPMN Diagram.

There are three basic types of sub-models within an end-to-end BPMN model:

• Private (internal) business processes

These are internal to a specific organization and are the types of processes that have been generally
called workflow or BPM processes. If swim lanes are used then a private business process will be
contained within a single Pool. The Sequence Flow of the Process is therefore contained within the
Pool and cannot cross the boundaries of the Pool. Message Flow can cross the Pool boundary to
show the interactions that exist between separate private business processes.

• Abstract (public) processes

This represents the interactions between a private business process and another process or
participant. Only those activities that are used to communicate outside the private business process
are included in the abstract process. All other “internal” activities of the private business process are
not shown in the abstract process. Thus, the abstract process shows to the outside world the
sequence of messages that are required to interact with that business process. Abstract processes are
contained within a Pool and can be modeled separately or within a larger BPMN Diagram to show
the Message Flow between the abstract process activities and other entities. If the abstract process is
in the same Diagram as its corresponding private business process, then the activities that are
common to both processes can be associated.

• Collaboration (global) processes

Depicts the interactions between two or more business entities. These interactions are defined as a
sequence of activities that represent the message exchange patterns between the entities involved.
Collaboration processes may be contained within a Pool and the different participant business
interactions are shown as Lanes within the Pool. In this situation, each Lane would represent two
participants and a direction of travel between them. They may also be shown as two or more
Abstract Processes interacting through Message Flow. These processes can be modeled separately
or within a larger BPMN Diagram to show the Associations between the collaboration process
activities and other entities. If the collaboration process is in the same Diagram as one of its
corresponding private business process, then the activities that are common to both processes can be
associated.

Types of Business Process Diagrams

Within and between these three BPMN sub-models, many types of Diagrams can be created. The
following are the types of business processes that can be modeled with BPMN:

• High-level private process activities (not functional breakdown)

• Detailed private business process
• As-is or old business process
• To-be or new business process
• Detailed private business process with interactions to one or more external entities (or
“Black Box” processes)
• Two or more detailed private business processes interacting
• Detailed private business process relationship to Abstract Process
• Detailed private business process relationship to Collaboration Process
• Two or more Abstract Processes
• Abstract Process relationship to Collaboration Process
• Collaboration Process only (e.g., ebXML BPSS or RosettaNet)
• Two or more detailed private business processes interacting through their Abstract Processes
• Two or more detailed private business processes interacting through a Collaboration Process

Two or more detailed private business processes interacting through their Abstract Processes and a
Collaboration Process

BPMN is designed to allow all the above types of Diagrams. However, it should be cautioned that if
too many types of sub-models are combined, such as three or more private processes with message
flow between each of them, then the Diagram may become too hard for someone to understand.
Thus, we recommend that the modeler pick a focused purpose for the BPD, such as a private
process, or a collaboration process.

Elements
Models in Business Process Modeling Notation are made by simple diagrams with a small set of
graphical elements. It should make it easy for business users as well as developers to understand the
flow and the process. The four basic categories of elements are:

• Flow objects
Flow Objects consist of only three core elements:
 Event: An Event is represented with a circle and is something that happens. It could be
Start, Intermediate or End. This element is a trigger or a result.
 Activity: An Activity is represented with a rounded-corner rectangle and shows us the
kind of work which must be done. It could be a task or a sub-process. A sub-process also
has a plus sign in the bottom line of the rectangle.
 Gateway: A Gateway is represented with a diamond shape and will determine different
decisions. It will also determine forking, merging and joining of paths.

• Connecting objects
The Flow Objects are connected to each other with Connecting Objects. There are three different
Connecting Objects:
• Sequence Flow: A Sequence Flow is represented with a solid line and arrowhead and
shows in which order the activities will be performed.
• Message Flow: A Message Flow is represented with a dashed line and an open
arrowhead. It tells us what messages flow between two process participants.
• Association: An Association is represented with a dotted line and a line arrowhead. It is
used to associate an Artifact, data or text to a Flow Object.

• Swimlanes
A Swimlane is a visual mechanism of organizing different activities into categories of the same
functionality. There are two different swimlanes, and they are:
• Pool: A Pool is represented with a big rectangle which contains many Flow Objects,
Connecting Objects and Artifacts.
• Lane: A Lane is represented as a sub-part of the pool. The lanes are used to organize the
Flow Objects, Connecting Objects and Artifacts more precisely.

• Artifacts
Artifacts allow developers to bring some more information into the model/diagram. In this way the
model/diagram becomes more readable. There are three pre-defined Artifacts and they are:
• Data Objects: Data Objects are used to show the reader which data is required or
produced in an activity.
• Group: A Group is represented with a rounded-corner rectangle and dashed lines. The
Group is used to group different activities but does not affect the flow in the diagram.
• Annotation: An Annotation is used to give the reader of the model/diagram an
understandable impression.